Stir-Fried Noodles with Kale and Cabbage

I mentioned on a recent post that my Kindle reader has been practically attached to my left hand for the last two weeks. If not in my hand, it’s been conveniently in my bag, ready to be pulled out at the first break in activity. I’ve loved books since I was a child and when we moved to the Noe Valley neighborhood in San Francisco when I was in 4th grade our home was just down the block from the neighborhood public library. My sisters and I would roller skate up and down the sloped street, always stopping at the library to pick up a new book or two. Actually, the limit at the time was eight books, so you can be sure that I always had that many checked out at a time.

Lately, I’ve been flipping between two books–a new release fiction (espionage and adventure) and Bryan Sykes’ The Seven Daughters of Eve. An avid student of science and history, my husband read this book (a while ago) on genetics and the theory that human evolution can be traced through the maternal line with mitochondrial DNA so I decided to read it too. While I do like to read history and nonfiction, this is not normally a book I would select for leisure reading but it’s turned out to be a page turner. My husband is pleased that I’ve been so engrossed in the book and we’ve enjoyed sharing our thoughts about Sykes’ theories.

In my bag I’ve also been carrying around the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Baking Recipes. I’ve bookmarked quite a few recipes to try from it but because I’ve been tied up reading the other two books I’ve put baking on the back burner. So instead of a cookie, a tart or a cake–which is what I would have loved to share with you–here’s what we had for dinner last night. Something very easy so that I’d have more time to spend with my Kindle.

I felt like having chow mein but having committed to using what I had available, I ended up with this version. I didn’t have traditional Asian vegetables but we’ve been enjoying stir-fried kale, red cabbage and mushrooms so much that I used them here, too. I used lean ground turkey and vegetarian “oyster” sauce to add more substance to the dish and I was quite happy with the results. There was no shortage of flavor and though I used spaghetti here (again, it’s what I had) my craving for Asian-style noodles was satisfied completely. Maybe I’ll have something sweet for you next week!

Update: I topped the leftovers with a fried egg the following night and it was delish!

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What books have you read lately that you would recommend? I’d love to beef up my summer reading list.

Fresh vegetables and a few pantry items will always guarantee a quick, flavorful and healthy meal like this easy stir-fried noodle dish.

Author: Lemons & Anchovies

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Asian

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

2 ribs celery, sliced

⅓ red cabbage, sliced thinly

6 mushrooms, sliced

½ red onion, sliced

2-3 cups kale, chopped in small pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ - ⅔ pound spaghetti (or Asian noodles)

½ pound ground turkey

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

2-3 tablespoons oyster sauce (or mushroom flavored sauce)

1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Few tablespoons sesame oil

chili sauce (optional)

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.

While you wait, prepare the vegetables. Sauté the mushrooms and onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. You want some caramelization so cook for 2-3 minutes on their own before adding the turkey and celery. Once you add the latter, also add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of chili sauce. Cook until the turkey is no longer raw and the celery is crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cabbage, kale, 1-2 tablespoons oyster sauce, the lemon juice and a splash of water then cover the pan, turn down the heat and give the latest additions time to cook, about 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the pasta. When the vegetables are done, taste for seasoning and if you feel it needs more flavor, add a bit more soy sauce and/or oyster sauce. Toss in the cooked pasta and drizzle the sesame oil on top. Stir until everything is combined, plate and serve.

Comments

I love the ease of stir fry, especially on week nights! Love the vibrant colors here. I love to read too but lately haven’t set aside much time for it… do you read the blog Not Quite Nigella? Lorraine just came out with a book that’s on my summer reading list!

A healthy and beautiful dish, Jean! I like the use of spaghetti noodles in place of Asian noodles (only because i usually have spaghetti on hand). Summer reading…Dan Brown’s latest, “Inferno” and hopefully finish “A Game of Thrones” 🙂

This noodle dish would be the perfect way to end a rather lazy Monday – love that you used ground turkey! Cristina and I must be on the same wavelength, I’m also currently reading the Game of Thrones series, and anxiously awaiting Dan Brown’s new novel! 🙂

Have a wonderful impromptu trip! I love reading fiction also, but right now, what I have on my bedside table are mostly nutrition and dietetics text books. Yah, text books. It’s the geek in me…hehehe. I love how colourful this noodle dish is! I’ve never made quite a lovely chow mein before, so I will take your cue and add vibrant purple cabbage, green kale, brown mushrooms, and fiery red hot sriracha – talk about eating the colours of the rainbow!

Okay this is one dynamite looking pasta dish Jean!!!! I only wish I had it right now – no dinner yet and this would be absolutely perfect. A book that we read a while ago in our book club – “On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” was one of my favs.

I’ve been cooking noodles lately and this is another wonderful noodle dish I’d love to create! I haven’t read a book for a while… but I bought a book Laura mentioned above. I was looking forward to reading this since Lorraine mentioned she was writing a book, so it’ll be a fun book to read when I’m taking a vacation in summer. 🙂

I have a tablet and the Kindle App installed, which has turned out to be the only use for my tablet. During my break I read a book on Friday Kahlo. My husband would really enjoy the Sykes book — will stop by Amazon next.

I like non-fiction a lot too. I’m leaving today for a 4 days in Palm Springs and 3 days in Big Bear. I know there will be a lot of much needed downtime. I think I’ll pick up The Seven Daughters of Eve. It comes highly recommended to me (thanks). GREG

Fabulous recipe – I love the colours. Really healthy as as well which is not a major issue for me but an occasional consideration! I just finished the most incredibly thought provoking book called ‘The Man who Broke into Auschwitz’ by Denis Avey. Not my usual sort of thing at all and you will guess from the title that the subject matter is fairly harrowing at times but it is a remarkable account of Denis’s experience – I strongly recommend it.

Ooooh I’m a sucker for those reads about where we came from! I actually had my DNA studied a few years back at a German Institute… they were able to trace back to eons ago! AND they showed me how a group of my ancestors finally settled on the Balkan Peninsula. 🙂 FUN!!!

[…] 45. Stir-Fried Noodles with Kale and Cabbage Stir fried noodles are popular in many countries throughout Asia, and here they’ve made them extra healthy with an assortment of healthy ingredients like kale, mushrooms, onions, and cabbage. One ingredient they’re using is not very Asian, but will give it a boost of protein without adding a lot of fat, and that’s ground turkey. This is a good thing since many Asian dishes are not very protein-laden, and tend to contain more carbs and vegetables. They’ve done a nice job of making it a better proportioned meal. As it stands it’s a complete meal and you don’t have to serve any supplemental side dishes with it. […]